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Yuji Okumoto
is an American actor of Japanese descent. He is best known for his role as Chozen Toguchi in The Karate Kid (franchise), ''The Karate Kid'' franchise. He has also appeared in such films as ''Real Genius'' (1985), ''True Believer (1989 film), True Believer'' (1989), ''Contact (1997 American film), Contact'' (1997), ''The Truman Show'' (1998), ''Pearl Harbor (film), Pearl Harbor'' (2001), ''Only the Brave (2006 film), Only the Brave'' (2006), ''Inception'' (2010) and ''Driven (2018 film), Driven'' (2018). Early life Okumoto, a third generation Japanese American (''Sansei''), was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He began karate at age 13, studying under various sensei. By the time of ''The Karate Kid Part II'', the 27-year-old Okumoto held a brown belt in Karate, and had learned basic skills in other martial arts, including Kung Fu and Judo. His Judo Instructor was Hayward Nishioka, his Chitō-ryū Karate Sensei was Yukinori Kugimiya, his Kajukenbo Instructor was Sensei R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world's most populous megacities. Los Angeles is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. With a population of roughly 3.9 million residents within the city limits , Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic and cultural diversity, being the home of the Hollywood film industry, and its sprawling metropolitan area. The city of Los Angeles lies in a basin in Southern California adjacent to the Pacific Ocean in the west and extending through the Santa Monica Mountains and north into the San Fernando Valley, with the city bordering the San Gabriel Valley to it's east. It covers about , and is the county seat of Los Angeles County, which is the most populous county in the United States with an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chitō-ryū
is a style of karate founded by , (1898-1984). The name of the style translates as: ''chi'' (千) - 1,000; ''tō'' (唐) - China; ''ryū'' (流) - style, school, "1,000 year old Chinese style." The character ''tō'' (唐) refers to the Tang Dynasty of China. The style was officially founded in 1946. Chitō-ryū is generally classified as a Japanese style because Chitose formulated and founded Chitō-ryū principally while living in Kumamoto, Japan. However, some modern practitioners feel it is better categorized as an Okinawan style given that its roots and techniques are firmly grounded in and derived from traditional Okinawan Tōde (唐手). This belief is warranted since the style's founder, Tsuyoshi Chitose, received first the rank of Judan, in 1958, and then the rank of Hanshi, in 1968, from the Zen Okinawa Karate Kobudo Rengo Kai (All Okinawa Union of Karate-do and Kobu-do). Founder ( Okinawan: ''Chinen Gua'') was born on October 18, 1898 in the town of Kumochi, Naha C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chol Soo Lee
Chol Soo Lee (August 15, 1952 - December 2, 2014) was a Korean American immigrant who was wrongfully convicted for the 1973 murder of Yip Yee Tak, a San Francisco Chinatown gang leader, and sentenced to life in prison. While in prison, he was sentenced to death for the killing of another prisoner, Morrison Needham, though Chol Soo claimed self-defense. Chol Soo served ten years of his sentence for the killing of Yip Yee Tak of which he was later acquitted, eight of those on death row. Investigative reporting by K. W. Lee sparked the formation of the Free Chol Soo Lee Defense Committee, which spurred a national pan-Asian movement. Chol Soo finally won his freedom in 1983 through the help of the Free Chol Soo Lee Defense Committee and Tony Serra. Early life, family and education Lee was born in Seoul, Korea in 1952, the son of a Korean woman who was raped and abandoned by her family. His mother then married a US soldier and emigrated to America, leaving Lee with an aunt and uncle. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pat Morita
Noriyuki "Pat" Morita (June 28, 1932 – November 24, 2005) was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his roles as Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi on '' Happy Days'', Mr. Miyagi in ''The Karate Kid'' film series, Captain Sam Pak on the sitcom ''M*A*S*H'', Ah Chew in ''Sanford and Son'', Mike Woo in '' The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo'', and The Emperor of China in '' Mulan'' and '' Mulan II''. He was the series lead actor in the television program ''Mr. T and Tina'' and in '' Ohara'', a police-themed drama. The two shows made history for being among the few TV shows with an Asian-American series lead. Morita was nominated for the 1985 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Mr. Miyagi in ''The Karate Kid'', which would be the first of a media franchise in which Morita was the central player. Early life Morita was born on June 28, 1932, in Isleton, California to Japanese immigrant parents. Morita's father Tamaru, born in 1897, immigrated to California f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tamlyn Tomita
Tamlyn Naomi Tomita (born January 27, 1966) is a Japanese-American actress and singer. She made her screen debut as Kumiko in ''The Karate Kid Part II'' (1986) and reprised the character for the streaming series ''Cobra Kai'' (2021). She is also well known for her role as Waverly in '' The Joy Luck Club'' (1993). Additional films include ''Come See the Paradise'' (1990), ''Picture Bride'' (1994), '' Four Rooms'' (1995), '' Robot Stories'' (2003), ''The Day After Tomorrow'' (2004) and '' Gaijin 2: Love Me as I Am'' (2005). Tomita also has played several recurring roles on television series, including '' 24'', '' Glee'', ''Teen Wolf'' and '' How to Get Away with Murder''. She starred on the Epix drama series '' Berlin Station'' (2016), and in 2017 began starring in the ABC medical drama '' The Good Doctor''. In 2020, she had a recurring role in '' Star Trek: Picard''. Early life Tamlyn Tomita, a first generation Japanese-American (issei), was born on a military base in Okinawa and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
442nd Regimental Combat Team
The 442nd Infantry Regiment ( ja, 第442歩兵連隊) was an infantry regiment of the United States Army. The regiment is best known as the most decorated in U.S. military history and as a fighting unit composed almost entirely of second-generation American soldiers of Japanese ancestry ('' Nisei'') who fought in World War II. Beginning in 1944, the regiment fought primarily in the European Theatre, in particular Italy, southern France, and Germany. The 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT) was organized on March 23, 1943, in response to the War Department's call for volunteers to form the segregated Japanese American army combat unit. More than 12,000 Nisei (second-generation Japanese American) volunteers answered the call. Ultimately 2,686 from Hawaii and 1,500 from U.S. concentration camps assembled at Camp Shelby, Mississippi in April 1943 for a year of infantry training. Many of the soldiers from the continental U.S. had families in concentration camps while they fought ab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese American
are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asian American group at around 1,469,637, including those of partial ancestry. According to the 2010 census, the largest Japanese American communities were found in California with 272,528, Hawaii with 185,502, New York with 37,780, Washington with 35,008, Illinois with 17,542 and Ohio with 16,995. Southern California has the largest Japanese American population in North America and the city of Gardena holds the densest Japanese American population in the 48 contiguous states. History Immigration People from Japan began migrating to the US in significant numbers following the political, cultural, and social changes stemming from the Meiji Restoration in 1868. These early Issei immigrants came primarily from small towns and rural areas i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lane Nishikawa
Lane Nishikawa is a Japanese American actor, filmmaker, playwright and performance artist who was born in Wahiawa, Hawaii and is ''Sansei'' (third generation Japanese American).Kim, Esther. (2006). His work often deals with Asian American history and identity issues. He is widely known for a series of one-man shows, including ''Life in the Fast Lane'', ''I'm on a Mission From Buddha'', '' Mifune and Me'' and others. In 2005 he directed the independent feature film, '' Only the Brave'', a fictional account of the rescue of the Lost Battalion by the 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team, a segregated Japanese American fighting unit during World War II. Nishikawa also starred in the lead role. He has written and directed two short films about World War II veterans, ''Forgotten Valor'' and ''When We Were Warriors''. Nishikawa has a long history in Asian-American theater, having served as artistic director for the Asian American Theater Company, in San Franci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Karate Kid Part II
''The Karate Kid Part II'' is a 1986 American martial arts drama film written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John G. Avildsen. It is the second installment in the ''Karate Kid'' franchise and the sequel to the 1984 film '' The Karate Kid'', starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita. ''The Karate Kid Part II'' follows Daniel LaRusso (Macchio), who accompanies his karate teacher Mr. Miyagi (Morita) to see his dying father in Okinawa, only to encounter an old friend-turned-rival with a long-harbored grudge against Miyagi. Following the success of the first installment, preparation for a sequel began immediately. Upon completion of the final script, Macchio and Morita were re-signed and additional casting took place between May and July 1985. Principal photography began in September in Los Angeles, and filming completed in December. Locations included Oahu, which was used to represent Okinawa in the film. ''The Karate Kid Part II'' was theatrically released in the United States ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Better Off Dead (film)
''Better Off Dead'' is a 1985 American surrealist black comedy film written and directed by Savage Steve Holland. It stars John Cusack as high school student Lane Myer, who becomes suicidal after his girlfriend breaks up with him shortly before Christmas. Plot In the town of Greendale in Northern California, high school student Lane Myer's two main interests are skiing and his girlfriend of six months, Beth Truss. Shortly before Christmas, Beth dumps Lane for the handsome and popular captain of the ski team, Roy Stalin. Roy is an arrogant bully who unfairly rejects Lane at ski team tryouts. Beth also criticizes Lane's car, an old station wagon. Although Lane also owns a 1967 Camaro, he has not been able to get it running and it sits in the driveway in a dilapidated state. Lane lives in a suburban development with his mother, Jenny, a ditzy housewife who routinely concocts creepy (and creeping) family meals; his genius little brother, Badger, who never speaks but at the age o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Young And The Restless
''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wisconsin). First broadcast on March 26, 1973, ''The Young and the Restless'' was originally broadcast as half-hour episodes, five times a week. The show expanded to one-hour episodes on February 4, 1980. In 2006, the series began airing previous episodes weeknights on SOAPnet until 2013, when it moved to TVGN (now Pop (American TV channel), Pop). As of July 1, 2013, Pop still airs previous episodes on weeknights. The series is also syndicated internationally. ''The Young and the Restless'' originally focused on two core families: the wealthy Brooks family and the working class Foster family. After a series of recasts and departures in the early 1980s, all the original characters except Jill Abbott, Jill Foster Abbott were written out. Bell ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cal State Fullerton
California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system, and its graduate student body of more than 5,000 is one of the largest in the CSU and in all of California. As of fall 2016, the school had 2,083 faculty, of which 782 were on the tenure track. The university offers 109 degree programs: 55 undergraduate degrees and 54 graduate degrees, including three doctorates. Cal State Fullerton is an Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) and is eligible to be designated as an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander serving institution (AANAPISI). The university is nationally accredited in art, athletic training, business, chemistry, communications, communicative disorders, computer science, dance, engineering, music, nursing, public administration, public health, social work, teacher ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
